The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Copper Yogilroy.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a mutation induction breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Fort Myers, Fla., and Salinas, Calif. The objective of the program is to create new Chrysanthemum cultivars with desirable inflorescence form and floret colors and good postproduction longevity.
The new Chrysanthemum originated by exposing unrooted cuttings of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Amber Yogilroy, not patented, to X-ray radiation in January, 1997, in Fort Myers, Fla. Following the radiation treatment, the cuttings were rooted and terminal apices were removed (pinched) three times to promote lateral branch development. After lateral branches from the third pinch reached sufficient size, terminal cuttings were harvested, planted and flowered in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif. The new Chrysanthemem was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within this population in August, 1997. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence form and ray floret color.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Salinas, Calif. in November, 1997. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Copper Yogilroy has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Copper Yogilroyxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Copper Yogilroyxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Chrysanthemum:
1. Upright, outwardly spreading, compact and uniformly mounded plant habit.
2. Dense, full plants.
3. Uniform flowering response.
4. Early flowering, eight-week response time.
5. Large formal decorative-type inflorescences that are about 9.9 cm in diameter.
6. Warm medium bronze-colored ray florets.
7. Good postproduction longevity with inflorescences maintaining good substance and color for about three or four weeks in an interior environment.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the parent cultivar Amber Yogilroy and the cultivar Yellow Yogilroy (U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/594,761 filed concurrently with this application) primarily in ray floret color.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the cultivar, Gilroy, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,252, in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are slightly less vigorous and shorter than plants of the cultivar Gilroy.
2. Ray floret color of plants of the new Chrysanthemum is darker bronze than ray floret color of plants of the cultivar Gilroy.